Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Trust in the Walkers

An excellent piece by David Conn in the paper today. Here. He wrote a similar piece for Insider a couple of months ago, but the point is well made here too.

So far, the comments seem quite sensible, but Comment is Free quickly descends into bickering and spite.

The Walker Trust is stuck between acting to increase the wealth of the existing family and supporting businesses that Jack Walker wanted them to support. But it's difficult to see those assets shooting up in value. They haven't been able to float FlyBe, or sell it, and the other interests are either freehold property or a few trophy assets like hotels and restaurants, including the marvellous Three Fishes.

There is an ownership model that would work. Putting the club in trust to the people who really care for its future - the fans.

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